The present invention relates to a multi-wire conduit dam to provide a dam, when installed in a conduit having multiple wires, that would separate each wire from the other and, when the dam is inserted in a conduit, prevent sealing compound from entering the conduit below the dam.
In particular, the multi-wire conduit dam consists of a molded strip of closed cell sponge rubber or equivalent that is shaped like a timing belt with a plurality of notches or grooves formed therein. The wires are placed in the grooves of the dam and either liquid adhesive or double sided adhesive tape is placed over the wires and the dam. The dam is then rolled together forming a cylinder which holds its shape because of the adhesive. The wire assembly and dam are then installed in an appropriate conduit.
It is important in the electrical cable art to be able to seal wire harnesses which are installed in conduits, each of which may have from one to forty wires passing through the conduit. This is accomplished in the prior art by putting a disk of some type, such as cork, in the end of the conduit and putting each wire in the conduit through an individual orifice in the disk. Thus the disk has at least as many orifices as there are wires. The wires can then have electrical plugs or connectors attached to the ends thereof and the dam can be sealed in the conduit with a sealant of any well-known type by filling the end of the conduit with the sealant to the point at which the disk is located within the conduit.
There are obviously several disadvantages to this apparatus and process. In the first place, a different size diameter dam must be used to seal each different size diameter conduit. Secondly, the dam must be assembled with the wire harness before the plugs and/or connectors can be put on the ends of the wires since the wires have to be inserted in the orifices in the disk. Thirdly, dams with the exact number of orifices required for the exact number of wires must be used or extra orifices must be sealed or plugged inasmuch as any unused, unplugged orifices would allow the sealing compound to pass through the orifices into the space behind the dam into the conduit.
The present invention overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art by forming the dam from a molded strip of closed cell sponge rubber such as neoprene closed cell sponge, or equivalent, and forming grooves or notches on at least one side of the molded strip so that it is shaped like a timing belt. The harness wires can be separated and each wire placed in a corresponding groove or notch with an adhesive or a double sided adhesive tape placed over the wires and the strip. The strip can then be rolled together forming a cylindrical dam with the adhesive maintaining the cylindrical shape. The wire assembly and cylindrical dam are then installed in an appropriate conduit. The molded strip consists of equally spaced recesses or notches molded on at least one side, but preferably only one side of the strip to a depth of the wire diameter which will be less than half the thickness of the strip. As stated, the strips are molded of an elastic material such a neoprene which is soft enough to compress and seal any recess that does not have a wire in it to eliminate the necessity of plugs for unused recesses or notches.
The diameter of the conduit does not have to change with the present invention because a varied number of wires might be sealed in a particular conduit. The molded strip can be trimmed or simply cut to the proper length for small conduits or variations in the number of wires required to be sealed.
An adhesive or a double sided adhesive tape can be applied to the open recessed side of the molded strip to allow the strip with the wire harness, when rolled into a cylindrical shape, to hold its shape until it is installed in a conduit. A smooth surface tape such as electricians tape may be applied to the outside of the cylindrical assembly to allow for easy insertion into the conduit. Because the elastic molded strip is formed of a compressible material, it will allow the cylindrical dam to be compressed for installation in a conduit where it will then expand to seal the inside of the conduit to prevent sealant from getting past the cylindrical dam into the conduit behind the dam.
Thus it is an object of the present invention to provide a multi-wire conduit dam formed of a molded strip of compressible material having a plurality of recesses on at least one side of the strip, with at least one electrical conductor positioned in a respective one of the recesses and an adhesive placed over the recess and the at least one conductor to cause the strip to hold its shape when the strip is rolled into a cylinder.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide the multi-wire conduit dam formed from a molded strip of compressible material having a plurality of equally spaced recesses on at least one side of the strip for receiving the wires.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a multi-wire conduit dam formed from a molded strip of compressible material having a plurality of equally spaced recesses on at least one side of the strip for receiving the wires and having a double sided adhesive tape placed over the recesses and the wires in the recesses to cause a strip to hold its shape when the strip is rolled into a cylinder.